Apparatus for eliminating lubricant from exhaust-steam



(No Model.)

J. H. BLESSING.

APPARATUS FOR ELIMINATING LUBRICANTS FROM EXHAUST STEAM. No. 514,440. Patented Feb. 13, 1894,

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UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

JAMES H. BLESSING, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR ELlMlNATlNG LUBRICANT FROM EXHAUST-STEAM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,440, dated February i3, 1894.

Application filed July 12, 1893. Serial No. 480,230. (No model.)

communicating chambers arranged in a vertical series and having a steam-passage leading from the top of each chamber into the next above it, each chamber having a domeshaped baffle-plate arranged over said steamr 5 passage for the purpose of forcing the steam to discharge laterally into the chambenand each chamber having a series of pendent retarding-plates of a trough-like form arranged to receive the impact of the escaping steam containing the lubricant which, having greater affinity for the metal of said plates than for the steam, will be deposited on said retardlug-plates and drip therefrom into the lower part of the chamber, as hereinafter more fully 2 5 set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, which are herein referred to and form part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical section of my apparatus of three communicating chambers;

said section being taken at the line X X on Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan View of said apparatus; and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section at the line Y Y on Fig. 1.

As represented in the drawings, A desig- 5 nates a tubular body-piece which forms the shell for the diiferent chambers of my apparatus, the number of said body-pieces corresponding to the number of chambers required in the apparatus; each of said bodypieces has a passage, B, which forms a communication between the upper and lower ends of the chamber; leading laterally from the passage l3-at a height at which it is designed to maintain the level of the condensed water in the 5 chamber to which it pertainsthere is a waste-water pipe, 0, whose passage is controlled by a stop-valve, D, or other suitable appliance, which must remain open during the time the lubricant is being collected in the corresponding chamber. At the opposite side of said body-piece there is an outlet-lubricant pipe, E, leading laterally from the chamber, and the bore of said pipe is preferably arranged to come alittle below the bore of the pipe 0. An oil-gage, F, is arranged at the-outer end of the pipe E and is provided with transparent sides, G, to afiord Visible evidence of the level attained by the lubricant and water collected in the apparatus. A stop-cock, H, is fixed in the lower part of said gage for the purpose of drawing oif the lubricant, but, during the latter operation, the waste-water valve D must remain closed to permit the water condensed from the steam to accumulate in the chamber and thereby raise the lubricant, that floats on the surface of the water, to a level where it can pass into the gage F, wherefroin it can be drawn through the cock H.

I designates the bottom-plate of my apparatus which is provided with a neck, J, that is fitted to connect with an exhaust-pipe, said neck being formed centrally on the lower side of said plate, and a'collar, K, is formed on the upper side of said plate and so arranged that the bore of said collar will correspond with the opening through the neck J, thereby forming a continuation of the exhaust-pipe into thechamber. A groove is formed on the upper side of the plate I to receive a packing, L, which forms a steam-tight joint for the lower end of the body-piece A that constitutes the outer wall of the lower chamber.

M designates the division-plates which separate the chambers from each other; each of said division-plates is provided with a centrally-located collar, N, which is formed'on its upperside and surrounds a passage, 0, through which the exhaust steam, from the underlying chamber, will pass to enter the successive chambers. Pendent from each division-plate M is a dome-shaped battle-plate, P, arranged to cut off a direct line of communication between the exhaust passages of the several plates; said baffle-plates are suspended from the division-plates by means of hangers, Q,

which retain said battle plates in position but afiord ample space for the exhaust steam in its passage from one chamber into the next succeeding chamber. Each divisionplate has, in its upper and lower faces, a groove for containing a packing, R, to form a steamtight joint with a corresponding end of the body-piece A that is appropriated to the particular chamber to which the division-plate forms a separation.

S designates the cap-plate which forms the top of my apparatus; said cap-plate hason its upper facca neck, T, which is fitted to recelve a continuation of the exhaustpipe. The lower face of said cap-plate has a baffleplate, P, pendent from it, and a groove formed on the lower side of said cap-plate contains a packing, R, which forms a steam-tight joint at that point. i

U designates the trough-shaped retardingplates which are pendent from each divisionplate M and from the cap-plate S; said retardlng-plates are usually arranged in con centric rows-as shown in Fig. 3and in such manner that a space between the edges of two adjacent plates of the same row will be opposite to the concave face of a retarding plate of the adjacent row, so that the steam whlch passes through such a space will be caught by the retarding-plate which covers said space.

V designates a series of screw-bolts which pass through lugs, WV, formed on the plates I, M, and S, for the purpose of binding the several parts of my apparatus securely together.

It shouldbe understood that the collars K and N must be formed to extend above the level of the pipes O in order to form a suitable reservoir for containing the eliminated lubr cant in each chamber of my apparatus, and it should also be understood that the several waste-water pipes (J-leading from the stop-valves D--can be connected to a single waste-Water pipe that will conduct the wastewater from all the chambers of the apparatus.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows: Said apparatus being secured in a vertical exhaust-pipe of a steamengine, the steam will pass upwardly through the collar K in the lower chamber of the apparatus and,

by striking the lower baffle-plate P, will escape laterally from under the latter-to impinge against the retarding-plates U in the lower chamber; the lubricant-held in suspension by the steam-having a greater affinity for the metal of the retarding-plates than for the steam, is lodged on the concave surface of said retarding-plates from whence it trickles down into the bottom part of said chamber where it will float on the surface of the water produced by the condensation of a portion of the steam which has entered the chamber; the uncondensed portion of the steam will then pass upward through the passage O of the lower division-plate M, striking the second baffle-plate Pand', being deflected against the retarding-plates U in the second chamber to undergo the operation just described, whereby a further quantity of lubricant is eliminated from the steam, and this operation is repeated in the successive chambers until all the lubricant is eliminated from the exhaust-steam, after which the latter will escape through an exhaust-pipe attached to the neck T. When the oil-gage F, of either chamber of the apparatus, indicates that a sufficient quantity of lubricant has been collected in that chamber, the corresponding stop-valve D should be closed to prevent the outflow of the waste-water from said chamber being continued; the closing of said stopvalve causes the water to rise in the chamber. Simultaneously with the closing of said stop-valve the stop-cock II should be opened and, as the water rises in the chamber, the lubricant will be carried into the gage F from whence itwill escape, through said stop-cock, and be caught in a suitable receptacle. This operation can be continued until the lubricant is drawn from the several chambers, or, in case any gage F does not show a sufficient quantity of lubricant in either of the chamhere, only the chambers containing a required quantity of lubricant need to be drawn off. When a profuse discharge of steam from either of the stop-cocks H indicates that the lubricant has all been discharged from the corresponding chamber of the apparatus, said stop-cock should be closed and the corresponding stop-valve D opened, to restore that chamber to a condition for eliminating the lubricant from the exhaust-steam. The Water in the lower part of each chamber forms a water-seal that will prevent the lubricant from being carried up into the passage 13- the pressure on the surface of the water being equalized in the chamber and its passage Band thence out of the waste-water pipe 0 pertaining to that particular chamber. The exhaust-steam on entering the lower chamber of my apparatus undergoes an expansion due to the increased area of the chamber, but the next impulse of the exhaust accelerates its passage into the succeeding chamber, where it undergoes a similar expansion and acceleration, and this action is continued until the steam has passed through the several chambers to finally escape from the apparutus; these several retardations of the passage of the exhaust-steam operate to efiect a more perfect separation of the lubricant from the steam.

It is manifest that this apparatus cannot be used in a horizontal position.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus for eliminating lubricant from steam consisting of a series of verticallyarranged chambers which communicate with each other through an opening formedin the division-plates; each of said openings being surrounded by a collar to form a receptacle for receiving the lubricant and water at the bottom of each chamber, each of the latter containing a passage which leads from the steam-space of the chamber to a level below the surface of the water; whereby a waterseal will be formed at the lower end of each passage, a waste-water pipe leading from each of said passages and provided with a stopvalve, a bafiie-plate interposed between the successive steam-passages between said chambers, and a series of pendent trough-like retarding-plates contained in each chamber and arranged in such manner that an open space between adjacent plates will be opposite a plate of the succeeding row of said plates, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of a body-piece provided with a passage, B, which-by forming a separate communication between the upper and lower ends of the chamber formed by said body-p1eceequalizes the pressure on the surface of the liquids contained in said chamber and passage, awaste-water pipe, 0, leading from said passage at the water-level of the apparatus, a lubricant-outlet, E, leading from said chamber near the water-1evel of the apparatus, a bottom-plate provided with an exhaust-passage surrounded by a collar which- JAMES H. BLESSING.

Witnesses:

WM. F. WHEELOCK, J. W. WHEELOGK. 

